Oil-trap for wells and pipe-lines



J. l. KYLE AND V. W. RUSSELL.

OIL TRAP FOR WELLS AND PIPE LINES.

APPLICATION FILED MARI15, I920.

Patented Sept 13, 1921.

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OIL TRAP FOR WELLS AND PIPE LINES. APPLICATION FILED MAR.15, I920.

1,390,793. PatentedSe'pt. 13,1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEEI' 2. 13 11 IN V EN TORS. Jddel'liyle, M YZ'QIM/WE/WLL 2 ATTORNEY T. KYLE AND V. W. RUSSELL.

OIL TRAP FOR WELLS AND PIPE LINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 15. 1920. 1,390,793. PatentedSept. 13,1921.

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UNITED STATES JESSE T. KYLE AND VERNON W.

RUSSELL. or BREA, camroxima.

OIL-TRAP FOR WELLS AND PIPE-LINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 13, 1921.

Application filed March 15, 1920. Serial No. 366,457.

To all whom it may concern Beit known that we. Jnssn T. KYLE and VERNON WV. RUSSELL, citizens of the United States, and residents of Brea, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Oil-Traps for lVells and Pipe-Lines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to and has for a principal object the provision of a receptacle adapted to be confines of an oil well derrick and in proximity to the casing head of an oil well and arranged for attachment to the pump tubing held in said casing, when it is desired or necessary for any reason to withdraw the tubing from the casing, in order to receive the substantial quantity of oil held in said tubing and to prevent the waste thereof which would otherwise ensue.

In the case of oil wells which have been developed to the producing stage, subsequent to the installation of the oil pump which is positioned in the bott' of the well within the well casing, the 'tuing which is held in said casing and through which the oil is delivered to the top of the well, is occasionally sanded up, i. c. it becomes filled or partially filled with sand so that the oil will not flow freely therethrough, and on such occasions and other occasions and for other reasons not mentioned herein, it is frequently necessary to completely withdraw said tubing from the'casing. The tubing, as in the case of the casing, is composed of a plurality of sections which are attached together at adjacent ends by an internally threaded collar adapted to be screwed upon the ends thereof, and the number of said sections depends upon the depth of the well. Usually three or four of said sections are withdrawn from the well at a time, depending upon the height. of the derrick, and the lowermost of the sections above the level of the casing head is disconnected from the tubing therebelow. Before another set of said sections are elevated, as stated, the oil .is permitted to drain from the sections previously elevated, whereupon, more of the tubing is raised to the position occupied by the said sections, said sections having been of course removed from a central position and stored at one side of the derrick.

Thus, it will be observed that no provision is usually made in oil wells of this character for saving the oil which isdrained movably supported within the from the tubing each time the tubing is cleaned or for other purposes removed from the well. This loss in oil is appreciable and the value thereof will be recognized when it is observed that in a well having a depth of 2500 feet and a pump tubing of 3 inches diameter, the quantity of oil held in the pump tubing will amount to more than 900 gallons, and at the present price of crude oil a substantial amount of money is represented in the oil thus saved for use. Usually the oil is allowed to drain over the derrick floor and run to where it will, and in addition to the economy effected by our devices, it will be recognized that we have provided means for eliminating the usual unsightly appearance of the interior and surroundings of the well derrick. It is an object, therefore to provide .means for facilitating the operation of the insertion and removal of the well tubing and effecting the saving in oil, as hereinbefore stated.

A further object consists in the provision of an oil receptacle adapted to be clamped around the periphery of an oil pipe so as to overlap the joints between the sections of said pipe and to catch and drain off for use such oil as may be discharged from the pipe sections when said sections are separated for any purpose. It will be apparent to those skilled in oil well art and others familiar with the industry that our device may be attached to and used in connection with oil pipe lines which are provided for conveying the oil from the wells to storage tanks or remote points. In the use of such pipe lines breaks frequently occur and a great deal of oil is-lost before repairs can bemade. whereas with our trap which may be attached over the break in the pipe, the greater part of the oil may be saved and drained to a sump or suitable receptacle convenient to the break in the pipe.

A further object'of our invention is to provide means in the derrick, for use in connection with an oil well, for moving the receptacle to and from position overthe casing head for attachment to and detachment from the well tubing, in order that the connections and disconnections may be made with facility and with as little effort as possible.

Still other objects include the provision of means for opening and closing the receptacle while the same is being connected to or disconnected from the tubing; means for manually operating said receptacle and the supporting means therefor; and means for connecting said receptacle with the well cassame parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a partial floor plan of an oil well derrick showing our oil trap operatively supported thereon and connected with the well tubing.

Fig. 2 is a sectional-elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the oil trap attached to the well tubing.

Fig. 4: is a section of the same on line V Fig. 5 is a sectionof the same on line 55;

Fig. 6 is a top plan of the same, partly broken away Fig. 7 is a view showing the manner of attachment of said oil trap to an oil pipe line, the trap being positioned in the trench which holds said pipe line;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a suitable form of crane adapted for moving the trap to and 'from the well tubing and for supporting said trap when operative and inoperative;

Fig. 9 is an elevation of another form of crane more adaptable in many cases than the form shown in Fig. 8.

Now, referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be observed that the derrick D is of the usual form, such form being immaterial in the consideration of our invention, and that the casing C is extended as in usual cases substantially above the level of the derrick floor 1. The well tubing t is shown partially withdrawn from the casing C with our improved and new trap T attached to said tubing so as to overlap one of the joints therein. Also a suitable form of crane A is shown mounted on the derrick D for supporting the trap T in operative and I inoperative positions at the well.

We will first describe in detail the structure and use of our new trap as shown clearly in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6. We prefer to construct the .trap T of a pair of like members 2 and 3, formed of either cast or sheet metal, each of said members forming in cross section a semi-circular part and the adjacent edges 4, 4 and 5, 5 thereof having tongue and groove joints 6, 6 so that when said members are held together in the manner hereinafter described a practically liquid-tight chamber 7 will be provided he tween and in the said members for holding and receiving the oil.

Handles H, H are provided on the oppo site portions of the members 2 and 3 and the upper and lower ends thereof have openings 8 and 9, respectively, formed therein through which the tubing 25 may be extended, as shown. The upper ends of the members 2 and 3 are rounded and reduced to form a neck portion 10 and a split adapter ring 11 having a reentrant packing groove 12 formed therein with a packing ring P held in said groove, is provided for insertion in the opening 8 of said neck and said ring may be held by means of screw 13, 13, or otherwise. The neck 10 is substantially larger than the tubing t, for in different wells difierent sized tubings are employed, but one sized trap T may be adapted for use with any sized tubing by means of the adapter rings 11, a number of which, of different sizes may be carried or provided with each trap T. Thus, all of said rings 11 will have the same outside diame ter so as to fit the opening 8, but the opening 14: therethrough will correspond to the outerdiameter of the tubing 15.

Member 2 has a partition 15 attached to the walls and bottom end thereof by means of rivets 16, or otherwise, which extends upwardly for a substantial distance from the bottom and rovides a sub-reservoir 17 to receive the oil which may be drained from the upper portion of the tubing 25, which, shown in Fig. 3 as separated from the lower section of the tubing, may discharge the oil therefrom into the trap composed of members 2 and 3. Member 3 has a partition 18 attached also to the walls and bottom there of by means of rivets 19, or otherwise, and a. slanting partition 20 is also attached to member 3 and extends over the top edge of partition 18 so as to drain the oil discharged from tubing t from member 3 into the reservoir 17 of member 2. Member 2 has an outlet 21 to which may be attached a flexible-tube, or hose 22, for draining the oil from reservoir 17 to a suitable sump, receptacle or to the casing C at a point below the level of the floor 1 of the derrick D, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The casing C in case the oil is drained thereto from tubing 2% may have a nipple 23 forming an inlet into which the end of the hose 22 may be insorted.

Partitions 15 and 18 in members 2 and 3, respectively, are bent into their central portions so as to form, when held together as shown in Fig. 3, a tubing through which the tubing If may extend upwardly into the 5 body portion of the trap and the flat portions of said partitions, when held in such positions, will be held in contact at the dividing line between the two members 2 and 3.

Referring particularly to F igs. l and 2, it will be seen that we have provided a pair of scissor-like arms 24 and 25 for attachment, respectively, to members 2 and 3 near the top and bottom of the trap T, formed by said members. Said arms are pivoted together at a point remote from the periphery of said trap on a vertical rod 26 and have extensions 27 and 28, respectively. projecting from the opposite sides of said rod which are connected by means of springs 29 which are adapted to hold the two members 2 and 3 of the trap together under normal conditions. Said members, however, may be spread apart for attachment to the tubing t by grasping the handles H, H on members 2 and 3, when said members will open against the tension of the springs 29. lVhen released, the tension of said springs will serve to close the members 2 and 3 automatically.

lVe have provided a type of crane for supporting our trap for use, which consists of a standard 30 held in a base 31 on the floor 1 of the derrick D and other brackets 32. and 33 thereabove at suitable points; a boom 34 having a yoke 35 on the outer end thereof and a. lazy tong device 36 on the inner end, for rendering said boom extensible; and a resilient brace 37 connecting the outer end of said boom with the upper end of said standard.

The yoke 35 may be held on the end of boom 34 by means of nuts 38 and 39 and the extremities 40 and 41 of said yoke are spaced apart so as to overlap the pairs of arms 24 and 25 and have bores therethrough to receive the ends of the pivot rod 26 of said arms. Thus the trap T may be held on the end of the boom 34 and may be turned suiticiently thereon by means of the connection of said yoke therewith as to facilitate the positioning of the trap. The trap may also be turned sidewise about the axis of the rod 26.

The brace 37 is pivotally attached at 42 to a clevis 43 slidably carried on the outer portion of the boom 34, the upper end of said brace is flattened at 44 so as to rest against the uppermost bracket 33 of the standard 30, and a coil spring 45 is interposed between the two members of the brace, as shown in Fig. 8, so that the boom 34 and the trap carried on the end thereof may have a downward swing against the tension of said spring. The lazy tongs 36 are pivotally attached at 46 to a bracket 47 on the standard 30 and their operation for lengthening or extending the boom 34 will be apparent.

As shown in Fig. 7 the trap T may be placed in position overlapping one of the joints, or a break in an oil pipe line 48. In such case the trap is used independently of any supporting means such as just described, and the handles H are utilized for opening the members 2 and 3 sufliciently to embrace the pipe 48 in which there may be a break or open joint. The springs 29 on the arms 24 and 25 will serve to close the members 2 and 3 in the manner described in connection with the use of the trap on an oil well, and the hose. 22 may be extended for a distance remote from the pipe line for draining off to a suitable sump, or receptacle, the oil discharged from said pipe line, thus saving the oil which would otherwise be wasted.

In Fig. 9 we have shown another form of device for moving the trap into and from operative positions relative to the pump tub ing and this form is more satisfactory for use in many cases about an oil well derrick. This substitute form of device includes a beam 50 pivoted on a vertical shaft 51 and having a brace 52 attached to the outer end thereof and also pivoted to the upper portion of said shaft, said shaft being held in bearing brackets 53 and 54 adapted to be attached to convenient members of the derrick D. A pair of pulleys 55 and 56 are carried near the opposite extremities of and on the beam 50 by means of hangers 57 and 58 and a cable 59 operated thereover. One end of said cable has a counterweight 60 attached thereto and the other end is adapted to be attached to a hitch cable 61 to the arms 24 and 25 of the trap, as clearly shown in Fig. 9. The weight 60 will balance the trap and the same may be readily swung into and from position over the casing head about the axis of the shaft 51.

lVe may alter'and change the structural details of our device to suit the obtaining conditions at oil wells and for use on pipe lines of the character described without departing from the spirit or enlarging the scope of our invention beyond that of the appended claims.

What we claim, is:

1. An oil trap for the purpose described having separable members adapted for attachment to a well tubing, and provided with a receptacle for receiving the oil and an inclined surface for draining the oil from said tubing into said receptacle.

2. In combination with a pipe composed of a plurality of sections detachably joined together, a receptacle of larger diameter than said; pipe and adapted to embrace said pipe for inclosing one of the joints. therein, and an inclined partition in said receptacle for the purpose described.

An oil trap comp-rising in combination with a. sectional pipe, a receptacle adapted to embrace said pipe and to inclose a joint therein, means for closing a portion of said receptacle to the passage of the oil and means for draining the oil from said receptacle.

4. A device of the character described including a pair of like members pivoted together and forming, when closed, a liquid tight receptacle,'an inclined partition in one of said members, means for holding said:- members normally closed, and means for manually opening said members.

5. A device ofi the character described including a receptacle having separable sides normally held resiliently together for providing a liquid container, an inclined drain member in said receptacle and means for manually opening said sides, for the purpose set forth.

6. A device of the character described having a receptacle provided with separable members normally held together, opening members attached thereto and pivoted together, a pipeextending therethrough, a reservoir in one of said receptacle members for receiving liquid from said pipe, a drain member in the other receptacle member and means for draining the liquid from said reservoir.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination of a halved receptacle having a. reservoir in one part thereof, a pipe extending into said receptacle and having an opening therein for said reservoir, and means for draining the liquid from said pipe from the other portion of said receptacle into said reservoir.

JESSE T. KYLE. VERNON \V. RUSSELL.

Witnesses:

LUTHER L. MACK, CHARLES C. MONTGOMERY. 

